The inquiry into the deadly mall collapse in Elliot Lake, Ont., has seen surveillance video and heard 911 emergency calls. The second phase of the inquiry is probing the emergency response to the June 2012 collapse.

The engineer who inspected the Algo Centre mall in Elliot Lake just two months before its fatal collapse in 2012 is now facing criminal charges in connection with the incident.

Robert Wood, a 64-year-old Sault Ste. Marie man, faces two counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Doloris Perizzolo, 74, and Lucie Aylwin, 37, were killed and dozens of others were injured when the mall collapsed on June 23, 2012.

A
round-the-clock rescue effort
would eventually recover the two bodies from the tonnes of concrete and steel that came crashing down in the northern Ontario town.

The month before the collapse, Wood and his colleague Greg Saunders sent a letter to Rhonda Bear, manager of the mall, detailing the results of their April 12, 2012, inspection. They noted rust on the beams in the areas where the parking deck was leaking.

“All beams inspected had little loss of section and we would consider the members still structurally sound,” they wrote in
the report
, which was released as part of the judicial inquiry into the collapse.

A woman who answered the phone at Wood’s Sault Ste. Marie home said he would not be commenting on the case.

“I believe he will have nothing to say as this is currently under litigation,” said the woman, who refused to give her name. Rob MacRae, who represented Wood at the inquiry, declined to comment when reached by the Star.

Roger Oatley, the lawyer representing the families of the two dead women, said they will see the charges as a good start but are expecting others — including the mall’s various owners throughout the years — to be charged as well.

“They are certainly expecting all of the people who collectively were responsible for this disaster to be held accountable,” said Oatley. “They’re going to be wondering, if engineer Wood has been charged, why others haven’t been charged.”

Police refused to say if charges against other people were forthcoming, but said the investigation continues.

Carol Hughes, the local New Democrat MP, said news of charges may come as a relief to some in the community who had talked about problems with the mall for years before its collapse.

“I think there’s still going to be more to come,” she said.

Hughes worked at Woolco at the Algo Centre in 1980 and she recalls problems with the leaky roof even then.

Wood is also facing charges from the Ministry of Labour for providing “negligent advice” in connection with the collapse. Those charges are still before the court and are scheduled to be addressed again on Tuesday. If he is convicted in the Ministry of Labour case, Wood could face a fine of up to $25,000 and/or as much as 12 months in prison.

The criminal charge of negligence causing death carries a possible life sentence.

Wood was previously found guilty of professional misconduct in 2010 at an unrelated site.

The OPP began its investigation in July 2012.

A
judicial inquiry into the mall collapse
heard from 125 witnesses over 117 days. They spoke of a building fraught with problems, including a roof that leaked frequently and was never properly fixed. Water and salt seepage from the rooftop parking lot led to rust in the building’s skeleton.

The commission is expected to produce its report on Oct. 31.

With files from Star wire services

Note - February 6, 2014:
Robert Wood is no longer a professional engineer. His licence was revoked in Nov. 2012 by the discipline committee of the Professional Engineers Ontario.